NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2026-23206

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dpaa2-switch: prevent ZERO_SIZE_PTR dereference when num_ifs is zero The driver allocates arrays for ports, FDBs, and filter blocks using kcalloc() with ethsw->sw_attr.num_ifs as the element count. When the device reports zero interfaces (either due to hardware configuration or firmware issues), kcalloc(0, ...) returns ZERO_SIZE_PTR (0x10) instead of NULL. Later in dpaa2_switch_probe(), the NAPI initialization unconditionally accesses ethsw->ports[0]->netdev, which attempts to dereference ZERO_SIZE_PTR (address 0x10), resulting in a kernel panic. Add a check to ensure num_ifs is greater than zero after retrieving device attributes. This prevents the zero-sized allocations and subsequent invalid pointer dereference.

EPSS: 0.001 (1.7th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-23206?
CVE-2026-23206 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2026-02-14.
How severe is CVE-2026-23206?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.